Author: John A Challoner

Independent Mathematical Logician, Social Scientist and Systems Scientist. Author of "The Mathematics of Language and Thought".

Categories
EFGST

Foundational Causality

New paper and course modules: Foundational Causality

Causality is fundamental to systems thinking, explanation, diagnosis and intervention. Yet causal relationships are often represented in highly compressed form: A ā†’ B.

My latest General Systems Theory paper, Foundational Causality, asks what lies behind that arrow.

Beginning with processes and physical transfers of matter, energy and embodied information, the paper progressively examines multiple causal contributions, causal chains and networks, PTP and TPT perspectives, recurring causal structures, persistent causal organisation, conditions and constraints, systems and emergence, causal leverage, and the development of causal knowledge.

A central idea is causal decompression: progressively exposing the processes, transfers, conditions and constraints concealed within apparently simple causal relationships.

The paper is accompanied by eleven free course modules (GST 81ā€“91). These take the learner from elementary cause-and-effect reasoning through causal networks and systems to leverage, causal knowledge and the interaction between hypotheses, explanations and theories.

A single flooding example develops throughout the modules so that learners can see a simple causal representation progressively become a systems-level causal analysis.

Recent research in science education has highlighted the importance of mechanistic reasoning, while other recent work has explicitly explored its relationship with systems thinking. The paper approaches that territory from a General Systems Theory perspective.

Alongside the paper I have also published a new set of General Systems Theory course modules featuring plain-English explanations, diagrams, examples, and practical exercises.

Both the paper and the course modules are open access. The paper is available at:

https://www.academia.edu/172403287/Foundational_Causality_Vers4

https://rational-understanding.com/efgst/

The course materials are available in two ways:

šŸ”— Open access (self-paced): https://rational-understanding.com/gst-course/

šŸ”— Supported learning: via Google Classroom through the ISSS Student SIG

Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join the Student SIG, where they can benefit from guidance by experienced systems scientists, discussion with fellow learners, and access to a wider international community. To join go to: https://isss.org

Categories
EFGST

An Imagined Conversation Between Ludwig von Bertalanffy and Roy Bhaskar

The following is, of course, an imaginary conversation, but one I suspect might have taken place had Ludwig von Bertalanffy and Roy Bhaskar ever met.

Bertalanffy: For many years I have argued that science has become fragmented into isolated disciplines. We need a General Systems Theory capable of describing organised wholes wherever they occur.

Bhaskar: I share your concern. But before we ask how systems are organised, should we not first ask what it is that exists independently of our descriptions of it?

Bertalanffy: You mean that systems are part of reality, not merely ways of thinking about reality?

Bhaskar: Precisely. Reality possesses structures and causal powers that continue to exist whether we observe them or not. Science succeeds because it progressively discovers those structures rather than inventing them.

Bertalanffy: Then perhaps I should ask you a question. What makes a system real rather than simply a useful way of describing the world?

Bhaskar: A good question. A system is real if it possesses an organised structure capable of generating causal powers and events. Our descriptions may differ, but the underlying organisation exists independently of us.

Bertalanffy: That is remarkably close to what I had in mind when I described organised wholes. My concern was always that science had become so specialised that it lost sight of organisation itself. Perhaps I did not make the philosophical foundations explicit enough.

Bhaskar: And perhaps philosophy has not developed a sufficiently rich language for describing organised reality. It can explain why generative mechanisms matter, but it says rather less about how they become organised into the systems we encounter throughout nature and society.

Bertalanffy: Then our ideas may be more complementary than either of us realised.

Bhaskar: I think they deserve to be explored together.

Narrator; Ludwig von Bertalanffy and Roy Bhaskar never met. Yet their work points in remarkably complementary directions. General Systems Theory provides a language for describing organised wholes, interaction, emergence and organisation. Critical Realism provides a philosophical account of why those organisations are objectively real and how they generate the events we observe.

Author: My latest paper explores what happens when these two traditions are considered together.

GST 05 ā€“ Foundations of Systems Theory from a Critical Realist Perspective

You can read the paper here:

šŸ”— Academia:
https://www.academia.edu/171509878/Foundations_of_General_Systems_Theory_from_a_Critical_Realist_Perspective

šŸ”— Rational Understanding:
https://Rational-understanding.com/efgst/   

Alongside the paper, I have also added a new set of course modules to the General Systems Theory (GST) course. These modules correspond to the concepts developed in the paper and are designed to make them accessible through:

šŸ”· plain-English explanations

šŸ”· diagrams

šŸ”· practical exercises

The course materials are available in two ways:

šŸ”— Open access (self-paced): https://rational-understanding.com/gst-course/
šŸ”— Supported learning: via Google Classroom through the ISSS Student SIG

Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join the Student SIG, where they can benefit from guidance by experienced systems scientists, discussion with fellow learners, and access to a wider international community. To join go to: https://isss.org

If Bertalanffy and Bhaskar had met, do you think they would have recognised each other as fellow travellers, or would important disagreements have remained?

Categories
EFGST

Productive Coordination

Why is it so difficult to combine knowledge from different disciplines?

An economist, sociologist, psychologist, engineer, and biologist may examine closely related aspects of reality, yet describe them using different concepts, terminology, and forms of explanation.

The problem may not be disagreement. They may simply be unable to see how their different perspectives fit together.

My latest paper in the General Systems Theory series explores a possible way forward:

šŸ‘‰ Productive co-ordination

The proposed process is simple in principle: Decompress ā†’ Recompress ā†’ Compare

Specialist propositions are first translated into plain language. Their underlying systems structuresā€”entities, processes, transfers, constraints, feedbacks, and related conceptsā€”are then identified using a common systems idiom.

The resulting structures can be compared and this may reveal:

šŸ”¹ Equivalence
šŸ”¹ Complementarity
šŸ”¹ Nesting
šŸ”¹ Contradiction
šŸ”¹ Independent utility

The objective is not to force agreement. It is to understand more clearly how different perspectives relate to one another.

But developing the methodology revealed a deeper problem. Most attempts to create a common systems language focus upon developing a common systems vocabulary or idiom.

Yet language does more than name things. Its grammatical structures also represent relationships, processes, and causality. If reality is systemic, and language evolved to represent reality, then systems structures may already be reflected within language itself.

This suggests a potentially important distinction between:

šŸ”¹ The Systems Idiom ā€“ a common vocabulary for expressing systems structures.

šŸ”¹ Systems Linguistics ā€“ the study of how systems structures are represented within language.

At present, productive co-ordination can compare identified systems concepts and structures. A more developed systems linguistics may eventually allow deeper comparison between the propositions and causal structures expressed by different disciplines.

This may be one of the missing pieces in the long-standing General Systems Theory dream of integrating knowledge across disciplinary boundaries.

Alongside the paper, I have published four short General Systems Theory course modules featuring plain-English explanations, diagrams, examples, and practical exercises:

GST 38 ā€“ Productive Co-ordination
GST 39 ā€“ The Productive Co-ordination Process
GST 40 ā€“ Comparing Perspectives
GST 41 ā€“ Systems Linguistics and the Systems Idiom

Both the paper and course modules are open access.

The paper is available at:

https://www.academia.edu/169817426/Productive_Co_ordination

https://rational-understanding.com/efgst

The course materials are available in two ways:

šŸ”— Open access (self-paced):
https://rational-understanding.com/gst-course

šŸ”— Supported learning: via Google Classroom through the ISSS Student SIG.

Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join the Student SIG, where they can benefit from guidance by experienced systems scientists, discussion with fellow learners, and access to a wider international community. To join, go to ISSS.

I hope the paper proves useful to those interested in systems theory, interdisciplinary research, communication, knowledge integration, and the future of collective problem-solving.

Categories
48. Three Skills

Three Skills for Better Outcomes

Reality exists whether we understand it or not. The challenge is that none of us ever see it completely.

Reality is far more complex than the human mind can fully comprehend, so we all rely on simplifications. Those simplifications differ from person to person because they are shaped by our experiences, education, profession, culture, and interests. This is one reason why communication can be so difficult.

It is important to celebrate the contributions of great thinkers and researchers, but no individual can fully understand reality on their own. Every perspective reveals something valuable while overlooking something else.

That is why I believe poly-perspectivism is such an important personal skill. It is the ability to recognise that different perspectives often contain different pieces of the same puzzle, and that a better understanding emerges through productive coordination rather than competition.

A second skill is motivational reflexivity. This is the ability to ask ourselves where our beliefs come from. Are they supported by good evidence, or do they satisfy personal needs such as certainty, identity, belonging, or status? Why do we sometimes resist changing our minds, even when presented with new evidence?

A third skill is what I call the viability ethic. If our understanding of reality is always incomplete, then our actions should not be judged solely by whether they advance our own interests, but also by whether they enhance the long-term viability of the wider systems on which we all dependā€”our families, communities, organisations, societies, and ultimately the natural environment.

These three ideas can be summarised quite simply:

See more clearly through poly-perspectivism.
Think more honestly through motivational reflexivity.
Act more constructively through the viability ethic.

Could these three skills help in preventing political debates from becoming polarised?

Could they help experts from different disciplines work together more effectively on complex problems?

Could they help us make better decisions about issues such as climate change, public health, migration, economic policy, or international conflict?

And might they help us respond more effectively to the growing interaction of environmental, economic, political, technological and social challenges that many now describe as the poly-crisis?

Our understanding of reality will always remain incomplete. But perhaps these are three of the most valuable skills we can develop if we wish to understand it a little betterā€”and to work together a little more wisely.

Categories
EFGST

Systems Linguistics: Representation, Compression, and Productive Coordination

Why do intelligent people looking at the same reality often describe it in completely different ways?

An economist, a psychologist, an engineer, a biologist, and a sociologist may all study the same broad phenomenon, yet use different concepts, different terminology, and different explanations.

The result is often misunderstanding, fragmentation, and difficulty working together.

My latest paper in the General Systems Theory series explores a simple but powerful idea:

šŸ‘‰ Human understanding depends upon compression.

Reality is far too complex to comprehend in full detail. We therefore simplify it through concepts, models, symbols, language, and theories. Different people, disciplines, and cultures develop different compressions of overlapping aspects of reality.

This helps explain both the extraordinary power of human knowledge and the communication difficulties that frequently arise between individuals, disciplines, and communities.

The paper introduces and explores:

šŸ”¹ Configurational and causal cognition
šŸ”¹ Configurational and causal compression
šŸ”¹ Linguistic divergence and hidden convergence
šŸ”¹ Systems linguistics as a tool for translation and comparison
šŸ”¹ Productive coordination as a means of improving shared understanding

Ultimately, the paper asks a broader question:

How can finite minds understand an infinitely complex reality well enough to coordinate action and maintain viability?

Alongside the paper I have also published a new set of General Systems Theory course modules featuring plain-English explanations, diagrams, examples, and practical exercises.

Both the paper and the course modules are open access. The paper is available at:

https://rational-understanding.com/efgst

https://www.academia.edu/169040199/Systems_Linguistics_Representation_Compression_and_Productive_Coordination

The course materials are available in two ways:

šŸ”— Open access (self-paced): https://rational-understanding.com/gst-course/

šŸ”— Supported learning: via Google Classroom through the ISSS Student SIG

Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join the Student SIG, where they can benefit from guidance by experienced systems scientists, discussion with fellow learners, and access to a wider international community. To join go to: https://isss.org

I hope it proves useful to those interested in systems theory, communication, complexity, interdisciplinary research, and the future of collective problem-solving.

Categories
SST

Intervention, Governance and Viability

Iā€™m pleased to share a new paper and accompanying course modules on Intervention, Governance and Viability ā€” a practical framework for understanding how social systems can be influenced and improved.

Social systems are constantly changing. Some changes emerge spontaneously through the normal operation of social processes, while others result from deliberate attempts to influence behaviour and outcomes. Yet interventions often succeed in some respects, fail in others, and frequently produce unintended consequences.

The paper argues that effective intervention requires more than good intentions.

It proposes three key ideas:

šŸ”¶ Social instability often reflects patterns of constraint misalignment.

šŸ”¶ Interventions influence outcomes indirectly by modifying the constraints that shape behaviour.

šŸ”¶ Effective intervention requires governance and should be guided by the long-term viability of the systems affected.

The paper explores:

šŸ”· intervention as constraint modification

šŸ”· causal leverage and significant flows

šŸ”· why interventions succeed or fail

šŸ”· bounded rationality and unintended consequences

šŸ”· governance and meta-governance

šŸ”· trust and the social contract

šŸ”· viability as a criterion for evaluating social change

A central theme is that interventions do not directly create outcomes. Instead, they influence the circumstances, conditions, and constraints within which individuals and organisations operate. Understanding these relationships provides opportunities for more effective and adaptive forms of governance.

This work forms part of a broader programme developing a social systems framework grounded in causality, constraints, adaptive governance, and systemic viability.

The paper is available via the following links:

šŸ”— Academia: https://www.academia.edu/168724321/Social_Systems_Intervention_Governance_and_Viability

šŸ”— Website: https://rational-understanding.com/sst/

Alongside the paper, I have also added a new set of course modules to the Social Systems Theory (SST) course. These modules correspond to the concepts developed in the paper and are designed to make them accessible through:

šŸ”· plain-English explanations

šŸ”· diagrams and illustrations

šŸ”· worked examples

šŸ”· practical exercises

The course materials are available in two ways:

šŸ”— Open access (self-paced): https://rational-understanding.com/sst-course/

šŸ”— Supported learning: via Google Classroom through the ISSS Student SIG

Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join the Student SIG, where they can benefit from guidance by experienced systems scientists, discussion with fellow learners, and access to a wider international community.

#SystemsThinking #SystemsScience #ComplexSystems #SocialSystems #Governance #Intervention #Viability #ConstraintAnalysis #AdaptiveGovernance

Categories
SST

Social System Diagnostics

Iā€™m pleased to share a new paper and accompanying course modules on Social System Diagnostics ā€” a practical framework for identifying problems in complex social systems and determining where further investigation should be focused.

Complex systems rarely fail for a single reason. Before we can explain why a problem exists, we must first recognise it and identify the areas requiring closer attention.

The paper introduces Systemic Diagnostics as a complement to Constraint Analysis.

It argues that diagnosis and explanation are distinct but complementary processes:

šŸ”¶ Diagnostics identifies symptoms and areas of concern.

šŸ”¶ Constraint Analysis investigates the underlying causes responsible for those conditions.

To support this process, the paper introduces a diagnostic hierarchy based upon system viability.

Because viability cannot be observed directly, it is disaggregated into four diagnostic dimensions:

šŸ”· Potential ā€“ Are future opportunities and capabilities being created?

šŸ”· Flow ā€“ Are information, resources, authority, and decisions moving effectively?

šŸ”· Capability ā€“ Can intended outcomes be achieved?

šŸ”· Flexibility ā€“ Can the system adapt to changing circumstances?

Together, these dimensions provide a structured framework for assessing system condition and identifying areas requiring further investigation.

The paper explores:

šŸ”¶ diagnosis as progressive expansion

šŸ”¶ viability and viability dimensions

šŸ”¶ diagnostic indicators

šŸ”¶ the relationship between symptoms and causes

šŸ”¶ the transition from diagnosis to Constraint Analysis

šŸ”¶ governance, learning, and adaptive decision-making

This work forms part of a broader programme developing a social systems framework grounded in causality, constraints, and adaptive governance.

The paper is available via the following links:

šŸ”— Academia: https://www.academia.edu/168478652/Social_System_Diagnostics

šŸ”— Website: https://rational-understanding.com/sst/

Alongside the paper, I have also added a new set of course modules to the Social Systems Theory (SST) course. These modules correspond to the concepts developed in the paper and are designed to make them accessible through:

šŸ”· plain-English explanations

šŸ”· diagrams and illustrations

šŸ”· worked examples

šŸ”· practical exercises

The course materials are available in two ways:

šŸ”— Open access (self-paced): https://rational-understanding.com/sst-course/

šŸ”— Supported learning: via Google Classroom through the ISSS Student SIG

Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join the Student SIG, where they can benefit from guidance by experienced systems scientists, discussion with fellow learners, and access to a wider international community.

Categories
SST

Social Destabilisation

Recurring Patterns of Constraint Misalignment

Why do organisations, communities, and societies become unstable?

Political crises, economic decline, organisational dysfunction, social fragmentation, and governance failures often appear unique. However, beneath the surface they frequently exhibit recurring patterns.

In this new paper, Social Destabilisation, I explore how instability can emerge from the misalignment of constraints within social systems. Drawing upon the Enhanced Morphogenetic Cycle (EMC) and Constraint Analysis, the paper identifies a number of recurring destabilising mechanisms, including:

ā€¢ External shocks and differential rates of change
ā€¢ Structural and cultural misalignment
ā€¢ Complexity and constraint regulation failure
ā€¢ Positive feedback and resource depletion
ā€¢ Role differentiation failure and cultural fragmentation
ā€¢ Power concentration and feedback distortion

Rather than treating crises as isolated events, the paper argues that many can be understood as recurring patterns of constraint misalignment.

The paper is accompanied by a series of course modules designed to make the concepts accessible to students, practitioners, and anyone interested in understanding how social systems change.

The final section introduces a practical diagnostic framework that can be used as a starting point for more detailed constraint analysis and intervention design.

Understanding instability is often the first step towards improving stability, adaptability, and long-term viability.

As always, this paper and the course modules are open access and can be read here:

Paper: https://www.academia.edu/168127594/Recurring_Patterns_of_Constraint_Misalignment

https://rational-understanding.com/sst/

Course Modules:

https://rational-understanding.com/sst-course/

Categories
SST

Constraint Analysis

Iā€™m pleased to share a new paper and accompanying course modules on Constraint Analysis; a structured approach to understanding how complex systems behave, change, and sometimes fail.

Rather than looking for single causes, this framework focuses on the conditions that enable or inhibit system processes, and how these interact across different domains:

šŸ”¶ Material (resources, environment)

šŸ”¶ Structural (organisation, roles, processes)

šŸ”¶ Cultural (norms, values, expectations)

By analysing how these constraints align, or become misaligned, it becomes possible to explain:

šŸ”· stability and instability

šŸ”· patterns of behaviour

šŸ”· transitions between system states

šŸ”· and potential points of intervention

The paper sets out the full theoretical framework, including:

šŸ”¶ constraints as causally effective conditions

šŸ”¶ enabling vs inhibiting dynamics (including presence and absence)

šŸ”¶ interaction and feedback across domains

šŸ”¶ attractors, transitions, and system viability

šŸ”¶ a detailed step-by-step analytical method

This work is part of a broader programme developing a social systems framework grounded in causality and constraint-based analysis.

The paper is available via the following links:

šŸ”— Academia: Ā https://www.academia.edu/167298197/Constraint_Analysis_A_Causal_Framework_for_Understanding_and_Influencing_Complex_Systems
šŸ”— Website: https://rational-understanding.com/sst/

Alongside the paper, I have also added a new set of course modules to the Social Systems Theory (SST) course. These modules correspond to the concepts developed in the paper and are designed to make them accessible through:

šŸ”· plain-English explanations

šŸ”· diagrams

šŸ”· practical exercises

The course materials are available in two ways:

šŸ”— Open access (self-paced): https://rational-understanding.com/sst-course/
šŸ”— Supported learning: via Google Classroom through the ISSS Student SIG

Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join the Student SIG, where they can benefit from guidance by experienced systems scientists, discussion with fellow learners, and access to a wider international community. To join go to: https://isss.org

#SystemsThinking #ComplexSystems #SystemsScience #Causality #SocialSystems #ConstraintAnalysis

Categories
EFGST

The Ontology of Randomness, Structure and Information

Iā€™m pleased to share the publication of my latest paper:

The Ontology of Randomness, Structure and Information

This paper is the third in a series on General Systems Theory. It develops a clear, physically grounded account of how patterns arise in reality, addressing a fundamental question:

šŸ‘‰ Why does the world exhibit recurring structure rather than remaining a field of transient variation?

The paper introduces and systematically distinguishes four key concepts:

  • configuration ā€” the arrangement of entities in space-time
  • randomness ā€” non-recurring variation in configuration
  • structure ā€” configuration with causal connectivity
  • information ā€” recurring structure

A central claim is that recurrence requires causality, establishing structure as a necessary condition for information and grounding pattern in causally organised processes rather than in arrangement alone.

The aim, as with earlier papers, is not to add complexity, but to clarify foundational concepts and provide a consistent basis for understanding pattern and information across physical, biological, and social domains.

The paper is available via the following links:

šŸ”— Academia: https://www.academia.edu/166175568/The_Ontology_of_Randomness_Structure_and_Information
šŸ”— Website: https://rational-understanding.com/efgst

Alongside the paper, I have also added a new set of course modules to the General Systems Theory (GST) course. These modules correspond to the concepts developed in the paper and are designed to make them accessible through:

  • plain-English explanations
  • diagrams
  • practical exercises

The course materials are available in two ways:

šŸ”— Open access (self-paced): https://rational-understanding.com/gst-course/
šŸ”— Supported learning: via Google Classroom through the ISSS Student SIG

Those in full-time or part-time education are especially encouraged to join the Student SIG, where they can benefit from guidance by experienced systems scientists, discussion with fellow learners, and access to a wider international community. To join go to: https://isss.org

I hope these resources are useful to those interested in systems theory.

#SystemsScience #GeneralSystemsTheory #Complexity #Cybernetics #Information #PhilosophyOfScience #Education